An impressionistic view of a day in the life of Coney Island from the desertion in the early morning to the hysteria at midnight. Commentary by Henry Morgan.


This movie is part of the collection: Prelinger Archives

Production Company: Joseph Burstyn, Inc
Audio/Visual: sound, color
Keywords: need keyword

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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Reviewer: seventyeights - - August 31, 2010
Subject: Coney Island 1952
Just sit back and reminisce each in your own way.This 20 minute documentary wasn't made to win an "Oscar"

Reviewer: ERD - - March 2, 2006
Subject: Misses the mark
I found this 1952 documentary missing the mood of Coney Island. I think the production style is too pretencious. It works so hard at trying to be "arty." Instead of being light, it seems somber. (I don't like the narration nor the music) Also, this movie seemed to drag in length. The 1940 film version of Coney Island was much more fun watching and thus superior.

Reviewer: musicradio77 - - December 26, 2005
Subject: Before Disneyland, There Was Coney Island
I remember being on Coney Island when I was a kid. I saw the actual film on an amusement park where they have rides such as the Wonder Wheel, parachute jump, cyclone, the merry-go-round and others and ended with a nighttime gag with lights and fireworks. That film was long before Disneyland opened in Anaheim back in 1955 (three years after the film was made). I missed Coney Island a lot, I wish I might go there again anytime soon.

Reviewer: narbuti - - March 18, 2005
Subject: play godspeeds sleep over this movie
hey this was a great film and it was even better when i put a song by godspeed you black emperor over it. the music lines up fairly well so you can just play it on another program and mute the movie. the title of the song is sleep and its 23 min. the song starts off with a guy talking about coney island so its pretty fitting.

Reviewer: Spuzz - - July 26, 2003
Subject: Woo! More Coney Island!
One again, reiterating, I LOVE old amusemtn park footage, and this has it all, from the cyclone of course, to the spinning rides which looked cool to the gag inducing orbitron. I have a strong stomah, but even i can't fathom that thing. this film has all of that in spades. It also focuses on the side shows, the food, and the beach. all paced out beautifully, taking us from morning to night. At night, the takes an eerie quality showcasing some of the more menacing mannequins they had. The film also has some strange racist qualities about it. Other then that, and the fact it's just a little too long, this film is a MUST SEE on this site!

Reviewer: Christine Hennig - - July 7, 2003
Subject: Coney Island USA
This 50s film about Coney Island is also full of historical footage of the amusement park in its heyday, but presented with an arty and disturbing spin. The dark, atonal background music, reminiscent of modern jazz, particularly gives this feel, as well as the focus on the leering faces of various advertising dummies and automatons found throughout the park. And occasionally the camerawork gets all weird and psychedelic. I think this was all supposed to make a Serious Statement about amusement park culture, but I'm not sure what that statement is. Still, like the much more innocent and fun Coney Island, this movie also has lots of great historical footage of the grandest of the grand old amusement parks during the pre-theme-park era. The two films together encompass both the fun and the sleaze of the classic amusement park experience.
Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: *****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.